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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

. R. EIOKEMEYER. MACHINE FOR MOUNTING HATS ON FINISHING BLOCKS.

Patented May 22,1883.

ATTE5T= (No Model.) I 4 Sheets-She et 2.- R. EIOKEMEYER.

MAGHINE FOR MOUNTING HATS 0N FINISHING BLOCKS. No. 278,001. Patented May22; 1883.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

R. EIOKEMEYER.

MACHINE FOR MOUNTING HATS 0N FINISHING BLOCKS. No. 278.001. Pa ten tedMay 22,1883.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4. R. EICKEMBYER..

MACHINE FUR MOUNTING HATS ON FINISHING BLOKSf No. 278,001. Patented MayZZ, 1883.

FI EI. I 1 5 ATTEST= INVENTCIFU UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE.

. RUDOLF EIOKEMEYER, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR MOUNTING HATS ON FINISHING-BLOCKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 278,001, dated May 22,1883. Application filed December 4, 182. No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUDoLF EIGKEMEYER, of Yonkers, in the county ofWestchester and State of New York, have invented acertain new and usefulMachine forv Mounting Hats on Finishing-Blocks; and I do hereby declarethat the following specification, taken in connection with the drawingsfurnished and forming a part of the same, is a clear, true, and completedescription of my invention.

It is well known that in the manufacture of felt hats the so-calledfinishing operation is performed while each hat is mounted upon afinishing-block, which is necessarily of the exact size and form as thecrown of the finished hat in each case, and that the hat must be fullydrawn over or upon the block and secured firmly thereto, in order thatwhen a finishing-block with a hat thereon is mounted on therapidly-revolvin g spindle of an oval or other finishing-lathe, and feltor other alluring material is applied by hand, the hat will be preventedfrom slipping on the block.

The mounting of hats on finishing-blocks has alwaysheretofore been doneby'hand, the hat in each case being grasped by its brim, on oppositesides, by the two hands of the workman, and then forced heavily downwardupon when the hands alone are relied upon for.

' grasping the lower portion of the hat.

The object of my invention-is to enable the mounting of hats onfinishing-blocks to be done by machinery with greater rapidity, lessexpenditure of labor, and practically free from that liability ofinjury'to the hats which is inoidentto hand operations. My machine forthis purpose necessarily involves the use of what 1 will call apulling-down ring, a finishing-block, and means for causing the ring andblock to occupy co-operative positions, so as to forcean interposed hatevenly, smoothly, and tightly upon the finishing-block, which, with thehat thereon, is then removed from the machine. The pulling-down ring isoval in its outline, and it may be constructed solidly or in sections;but I prefer it to be a solid ring, similar to such banding-rin gs ashave been heretofore employed by me in hat blocking and bandingmachines-such, for instance, as is shown in my prior Letters Patent No.200,034, but differing from that in being, oval instead of circular; andin order that various sizes of pulling-down rings maybe alwaysconveniently at hand on the machine and readily interchangeable for use,I mount a series of such rings upon a head capable of being revolvedupon ahorizontal axis, and in that respect similar to the series ofcircular banding-rim gs heretofore employed by me in blocking andhanding or shaping machines, as is, for instance, illustrated in myprior Letters Patent No. 72,726, December 31, 1867, but differingtherefrom as hereinafter specified. The blocks now used by me are mainlylike the usual fin ishing-blocks new in general use, they being oval andof the exact form and size desired in the finished hatsin each case, thepulling-down rings corresponding thereto exactly in form, butsufficiently larger to properly-engage with theinterposed hat atitsband, or, i [1 other words, at the junction of the side, crown and brim.These finishing-blocks are not fastened in position in the machine, butcan be readily applied with a hat thereon, and as readily re- In someprior'felt-hat blocking and stretching machines oval blocks have beenemployed in combination with radial brim stretching clamps or fingersand an oval banding-ring;

but said machines are operated in connection with hot water or steam,and I know of no machine of th at class which could, without importantchanges, be relied upon for the purposes herein indicated, nor any whichhave been op- Although in certain of my prior blockerated with blockssuitable for finishing purposes.

In machines for blocking straw hats'a sectional banding-ring hasheretofore been employed in combination with an oval hat-block; but suchblocks are wholly unsuited for finishin g-blocks for use on feltedgoods, because said straw-workingblocksare necessarily composed of suchmaterial and are so constructed as to enable them to be well heated"when used for blocking straw hats. The finishing blocks used by me areprovided with the usual axial hole for a lathe-spindle, and, also, as anovel feature, they are provided with one or more additional holes atthe one side of the axis of the block, which enables a pin or pins toregister with the block and cause it to be always properly located withreference to the oval pulling-down ring when the two are initiallybrought into their (lo-operative working positions.

It will be readily understood that in allprior machines wherein a blockand a ring are employed those devices co-operate for developing the formof the hat at the band, whereas my present machine is organized solelyfor placing such previously-formed hats upon finishing-blocks, and theselatter co-operate with the ring without changing the form of the hat,and I know of no prior machine which can be practically employed for mypresent purpose. The means employed for causing the finishing-block toapproach the ring or the ring to approach the block may be widely variedbut I prefer mechanism similar to that illustrated in my aforesaidLetters Patent N 0. 200,034. For obtaining the best results I employwith the pulling-down ring-and the finishing block a brim-clamp, which,prior to actual work by the ring, clamps the brim near its edge evenlyand smooth, and said brim-clamp may be variously constructed, arranged,and operated, provided it can clamp the brim evenly and smoothly, andcannot stretch or pull outwardly on the brim, as in blocking andbrim-stretching machines; but I prefer it to be similar to that shown insaid Letters PatentNo. 200,034. This brim-clamp is varied in its form,according to whether the brims of the finished hats are to be curved orflat.

After describing my prcsen t machine as preferably organized by meforthepurposes stated, the features deemed novel will be specified in theseveral claims hereunto annexed.

Referring to the drawings, of which there are four sheets, Figure 1,Sheet 1, is a front elevation of my machine, with a portion of thepullin g-down rings removed and with the brimolamp and the centralportion of the machine shown in verticallateral section. Fig.2,Sheet 2,is a vertical central section of the machine on a line from front torear, and with the brimclamp' widely opened. Fig. 3, Sheet 3, is asectional view of the same, with the brim-clamp closed and thefinishing-block in its working position with relation to said clamp andto the pulling-down ring. Fig. 4, Sheet 4, is an enlarged sectionalviewof the rings, clamp, and finishing-block, with a hat upon thefinishingblock, and with the parts in their relative positions at theconclusion of the mounting of the hat upon the block. Fig. 5, Sheet 4,is a horizontal section of the finishing-block and the hat, Fig.4.

It is obvious that the frameAof the machine may be largely varied inform; but that shown is substantially the same as shown-in my priorPatent N 0. 200,034.

The pulling-down rings B are oval in outline, and, as here shown, theyare six in number, of different sizes, and they are mounted upon theperiphery of a skeletonized revolving head, B, having its axis insuitable bearings upon the top of the frame. The revolving head has inone edge thereof a series of recesses, and when either of these isoccupied by the end of the spring-catch B Fig. 1, the head is firmlylocked against rotation, and the lowest ring is accurately located forservice. The workingedge of each ring projects more at its ends than atits sides, so as to conform to the curved brim-clamp used therewith.

The curved brim-clamp G is composed of two parts, a and a. The part a issuspended from the top plate of the frame upon sliding rods, and thepart. a is fixedly mounted at the tops of adjustable vertical rods 1)upon a crosshead, I), supported on the reciprocating spindle D by meansof a collar, 0, so that when said spindle is raised by the treadle E thelower part of the clamp is lifted into contact with the upper portion,and then both are lifted together until the upper section is held withpressure against the under side of the top of the frame of the machine,thereby enabling a hat-brim to be firmly and smoothly clamped betweensaid sections, substantially as in my said prior Letters Patent No.200,034.

The block-carrier or baseplate F is loosely I mounted on the spindleD,above the cross-head b, and it is moved vertically with and by saidspindle, but is also vertically movable independently of said spindle bymeans of the hand-lever Gr, acting through a rock-shaft and arm, G, uponthe toggle-lever (I, connected by a cross-bar, d, as clearly indicatedin Figs. 3 and 4, and substantially as in said prior Patent No. 200,034.

As a novel feature I now employ registeringpins 6, of which there aretwo, and these are vertically mounted rigidly upon the cross-head 1),before described, and they therefore rise and fall with the spindle, andalso independently thereof, when the block-carrier is lifted and loweredindependently of the spindle. These registeringpins or equivalentregistering devices are important for enabling a finishingblock to bealways so held on the carrier that it will invariably occupy aprecisely-accurate position with relation to the oval pulling-down ring.

The finishing-block H, as before stated, differs from ordinaryfinishing-blocks, in that it is provided with one or tworegistering-holes, f,

if said registering-holesf be bored therein for the reception of theregistering-pins when said block is placed upon the spindle. If oneregistering-hole and one pin 6 be used, the

same registering effect will be obtained but it is obvious in that casethat special care and attention would be necessary in properly placingtheblock in position, whereas with two holes and one pin the block canmore-readily be made to properly register, and withthe two pins theblock is maintained more accu-' rately in position than if one wereused, especially should the axial hole g of the block be considerablylarger than the spindle. It is of course immaterial in what manner thefinishing-block is so assuredly mounted upon the spindle that itslongest diameter will exactly correspond with the longest diameter ofthe pulling-down ring, and the means employed for registering may belargely varied without departure from certain features of myinvention.

The operation of my machine is as follows: The block-carrier being atits lowest position, a finishing-block withv a blocked hat, h, properl yheated by steam,placed thereon is mounted upon the block-carrier, asindicated in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2, the brim ofthe hat restingupon the lower section of the brim-clamp, and with the holes 1 in theblock occupied by the registering-pins. The treadleis then depressed,which lifts the block and causes the hat-brim,

' nearits edge, to be firmly clamped between the sections of the clamp,as indicated in Fig. 3.

The hand-lever isthen lifted, which raises the finishingblock above thespindle and registering-pins and places the ring and block intocooccupation of a ring by the hat; but with my skeletonized head and thenarrow rings it is obvious that the operator can freely observe the hatand readily place his hands upon the crown thereof, if needed, forsmoothing it down upon the block before removing it from the machine.

Having thus described myinvention, Iclaim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent 1. The combination, substantially as hereinbeforedescribed, of an oval pulling-down ring, a block-carrier, an ovalfinishing-block, devices for accurately registering the block withrelation to the ring, and mechanism for bringing the block and ring.into co-operative positions for mounting an interposed hat upon thefinishing-block, as set forth.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore described, of an ovalpulling-down ring, abrim-clamp which smoothly and'evenly clamps ahat-brim without stretching it, a block-carrier,an ovalfinishing-block,and mechanism for closing the brim-clamp and placing theblock and ring into co-operative positions for'mounting an interposedhat upon the tinishing-block, as set forth.

3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore described, of the ovalpulling-down ring, a block-carrier provided with means for assuring theaccurate mounting of an oval finishing-block thereon and its accuratepresenscribed, whereby an oval finishing-block may be accurately mountedthereon, as set forth.

5. The oval finishing-block provided with the usual centering-hole andone or more registering-holes, substantially as described.

6. The combination of the axially-mounted circular skeletonized head andthe series of oval pulling-down rings mounted upon the periphery of saidhead, substantially as described.

R. EICKEMEYER.

lVitnesses: 5

WM. H. DOPP, GEORGE NARR.

